Homeschool.com Blog

Every year, an organization known as Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), considered to have the most reputable and reliable university ranking system, rates universities from around the world based upon a number of factors. It ranks in several categories, such as by academic discipline and by country, but, in the end, it has an overall ranking of top universities based upon a combination of factors. These factors include:

Research

Teaching Quality/Teacher Credentials

Graduate Employability

Facilities

Internationalization (commitment to enrolling a study body from all over the world)

Social Responsibility

Innovation

All of the top 10 universities are, just as they have been for several years, from the U.S. and the UK. While they have switched spots among that top 10 over the years, they have maintained their excellence in the 7 rating factors to be continually on the list. The order in which the rankings occur for the latest ratings are as follows:

MIT: MIT is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a student body of approximately 11,000, and is most acclaimed for it science and technology programs. Another quite famous school within the Institute is its Sloan School of Management for graduate business majors. It is a top research institute in the world and very heavily endowed.

University of Cambridge: Cambridge is the 2nd oldest university in the UK and is most well-known for its colleges of law, sciences and economics. It is a part of the Russell Group and the Golden Triangle, two inter-collegiate organizations, the members of which are highly reputable research institutions. Cambridge actually has 31 separate colleges within its university system, each of them self-governing with their own admissions and degree requirements.

Imperial College of London: This is a public research institute supported by the government of the UK and is best known for its science, engineering, and medicine programs. It has several campuses throughout London, is a member of both the Russell Group and the Golden Triangle, and most recently has been recognized as a leader in biomedical research. (To reach more information about UK universities click here)

Harvard University: Located in Cambridge Massachusetts, along with MIT, Harvard is a world-renowned research institution, but also is known for its schools of business and law. A number of prominent government leaders in the U.S. throughout history graduated from the Harvard School of Law, including John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. (To reach more information about U.S. universities click here)

University College of London: While this institution has traditionally been acclaimed for its schools of medicine, law and science, it is currently moving into a rigorous school of international studies, as it prepares students for increasing globalization in all content fields. Its faculty comes from around the world, and it currently has approximately 20,000 foreign students enrolled.

Oxford University: Also in the UK and also a member of both the Russell Group, and Golden Triangle, Oxford is perhaps best known for its humanities and law colleges, as well as its graduate school of business.

Stanford University: Stanford is a private research university with highly acclaimed schools of medicine, business, energy and environmental sciences, engineering and law. Its graduates are among some of the most prominent business, science and medical leaders in the U.S. Current enrollment is about 16,000 students spread all over the town that bears the same name as the university.

California Institute of Technology: Cal Tech is one of the smaller universities among the top-ranked institutions, with an enrollment of only 2200 students. It is a science and engineering research university which garners huge endowments for its work. Cal Tech is located in Pasadena, California, just outside of Los Angeles.

Princeton University: Located in New Jersey in the town of the same name, Princeton was the 4th chartered university in the colonies, founded in 1746. It is private, heavily endowed school, with the largest endowment per student in the United States. Most prominent fields of student include engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences. Most notably, Princeton is home to the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Many U.S. political figures have graduated from Princeton over the years, 4 of whom currently sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yale University: Located in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale is the 3rd oldest university in the United States. It was originally formed as a school of theology but obviously has significantly changed over the years. Today, Yale has undergraduate programs in virtually every academic discipline but is perhaps best known for its graduate and professional schools in management, law, medicine, architecture, music and drama.

While there are other organizations that rank colleges and universities around the world, these 10 schools continue to be among the top-ranked by all of them, although the specific positions may be somewhat different.

John Unger is a blogger, writer and editor. In his free time he contributes his posts to various websites. Currently, he writes his own blog at Assignment Mountain. His main topics of interest are education, self-improvement and business issues.